Protective headgear and lining suspensions



2 Sheets-sheaf l I INVENTOR. JOSEPH R. FISHER ATTORNEY Jan. 27, 1959 J. R. FISHER PROTECTIVE HEADGEAR AND LI'NING SUSPENSIONS Filed Oct. 28 1954 J. R. FISHER PROTECTIVE HEADGEAR AND LINING SUSPENSIONS Filed 0st. 28, 1954 Jan. 27, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. JOSEPH R. FISHER ATTORNEY 2,870,445 v PROTECTIVE. HEADGEAR- "LINI'N'G SUSPENSIONS Joseph R.;Eislier,-Peun Township, Allegheny; County, Pa., ,assignor to Mine Safety Appliances Company Application October 28, 1954, 5Serial No. 465,309 2 Claims. err-'5 sinv i i n. r la es-tampo h ad ear andmq particularly, to protective headgear having improved lining suspensions for attaching afheadgear lining.v I

" It is among theobjects of .this invention to provide a headgear which is constructedjinva manner to improve protection to the headof the wearerfrom injury, as from falling'objects, and the like and contact withexposed electrical wiring. It is a further object to provide a headgear with improved lining suspension means ,so con strueted -as to minimize injury to the head when the headgear receives an external blow. A still further object is to provide. a headgear lining. suspension means which may be inexpensively and easily fabricated and secured to the headgear, which requires a minimum numberof parts, and which facilitates-lining attachment.

In accordance with this invention, theheadgear is provided with lining suspensions in the-form of a,. co rd. -secured to .the.crwn of the headgear .by molding or adhering portions of the cord to the crown. Thisprovides cord. mounting portions apart from.the.crown for attaching thelining. The lining comprises .the usual cradle straps, adjustable sweatband and cradle,,strap adjustment lace, andthecradle straps are overlappe'dat eachof their ends for attachment to the mounting portions and adjustment lace, respectively. The cradle; straps are provided with disengageable fasteners in order that the .lining, in-its entirety,'may be easilymemovedfrom the mounting portions by merely detaching the end of the cradle straps. In another embodiment of the invention, the headgear is provided with a cord embedded along its entire length within the crown. Spaced lining attaching means are looped around the cord and molded to the crown. Cradle straps are detachably connected to the spaced attaching means.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the foregoing description and annexed drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a bottom view of the headgear with portions broken away and'in section to show the lining suspension means;

Fig. 2 is a vertical elevation with and in section;

Fig. 3 shows a fragmentary segment of the headgear illustrating a modified form of the lining suspensions;

Fig. 4 is a view taken on line IVIV of Fig. 3 and showing attachment of a cradle strap;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section showing a still further modified headgear construction;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of another form of attaching the headgear lining; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view taken on line VII-VII of Fig. 6.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the protective headgear is shown in the form of a cap and is of the type generally worn for head protection by construction workers, miners, and the like. However, this invention is not limited to any particular type of protective headgear as it is obvious that it is equally applicable to protective parts broken away other Ice.

a "m l y a d ,sun h i et ..,t 19 o r Ent tie 5 h e dwear- The capmaybe fabricated by any of the.wlhlrtibnin methods, such as compression, injectipn,. or,trans' f er mold ing as in the caseof .plastic or plastic reinforced .headgear, or may be die stampedjas in the caselof metallic,

headgear. Ihis invention is most particularly QQncerhe'd with providingsuspension meanst in, headgears that are molded from plastic and plastic reinforced materialsand will be so hereinafter describfid. The headgear lining' suspension means is shownin the form of a cord 4, mold: ed or adhered to the. crownj2to provide meansfonafl ta'ching. a headgearlining to the cap. ,It should'be undert ait e mcg .u ed ro d va din t k the; formffor example, of a braided rope, a filled braided sleeving a woven webbing, a knitted tubular construction, a twisted cord or extruded strip or rod. The cord may bemadeofmetallic ,or'nonmetallic materials that possess required strength'and flexibilitycharacteristics. Cord 4 may 'be either molded or-embedded into the crown during themolding of the cap by permitting the plastic to flow over part ofthe cord, or the ,cord may contain, in part, a plastic binder which combines with the plastic of the cap during the molding process, or the cord may be attached to the already molded cap by partially coating the rope with an adhesive for-bonding the-rope to'the crown. Ac-

cordingly, the term molded is usedto'in'clude any of these forms of bonding the cord to the cap. As maybe particularly noted in Fig. l, cord 4 circumscribes the lower part of crown 2 and includes spaced portions Gmolded to the inner surface of the crown, leavingmounting'portions 8 freeof the'crown for attaching web cradle straps 10. Onlygthree-mounting portions 8 and cradle straps '10 are showny-but it is readily apparent that a more or less number may beselected. In addition to cradle straps 10, the lining comprises a conventional adjustable sweatband 12 and. cradle strap adjustment lace or rope 14. One end 16 of each cradle strap 10 is overlapped and secured as bystitching to end 18 of each cradle strap is overlapped and secured by a disengageable snap fastener 20 to provide a loop for a mounting portion 8. In order to attach or remove the cradle straps from the cord, it is only necessary to fasten or disengage the fasteners 20. The sweatband 12 may either be detachably or permanently secured to the cradle straps by any of the well-known practices in the art, and if desired, may be associated with fasteners 20 to be secured to the straps in this manner.

By forming lining suspensions and attaching the lining to the suspensions in the manner described above, a headgear is provided having an internal surface free of rigid projecting blow transmitting elements dangerous to the head of the wearer. Also, the tenacious bond between the cord and crown provides a very durable headgear.

It should be clear from the foregoing that a very inexpensively and easily fabricated suspension means is provided which contains required strength characteristics under normal or adverse conditions for supporting the cap on the head of the wearer by the lining. The flexibility of mounting portions 8 cushions the head of the wearer when the cap receives an external blow since these portions will merely bend against the cap when such a blow occurs. Furthermore, this improved construction, in the case of a nonmetallic cap and cord, provides a protective headgear with ultimate dielectric qualities without lessening the strength characteristics of the headgear. In fact, the portions of the cord molded to the crown will increase the rigidity and strength of the headgear.

Figures 3 and 4 show fragmentary segments of a modified cap having a cord 4a molded into the outside surface of the cap to form a mounting portion 8a for attaching a detachable cradle strap 10a. In this modified form, the

provide -a loop for the lace 14, and the I end of the cradle strap 10a is passed beneath the bottom edge of the cap and passed around mounting portion 8a. The remaining construction of the cap and lining not shown is the same as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. By this manner of construction and attachment, the suspension means is limited to the outside surface of the cap to further protect the head of the wearer from any internal projecting elements which may transmit impact forces to the head when the cap is struck.

Referring now to Fig. 5, which shows a segment of a cap similar to the view in Fig. 1, it is seen that the crown is formed with an integrally molded external rib 22 forming a concavity or indentation 23 with respect to the remaining internal surface of the crown for the purpose of providing a space between the crown and mounting portion 8b of cord 4b. The number of ribs formed will be equal to the number of suspension points selected. By modifying the cap in this manner, the cord 4b may be molded into the cap to span indentation 23 and need not be distorted when attached to the lining since the space between the rib 22 and mounting portion 8b of the cord is sufiicient to conveniently permit a cradle strap to be looped around the portion 8b. It may be noted that this construction has good dielectric qualities and produces a relatively unobstructed internal surface for the cap to protect the head. Also, should it be desired that a metallic rod be employed as the suspension means, no bending of the rod would be necessary to provide mounting portions for the cradle straps.

The modified construction illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 shows a cap having a cord 40 embedded in or bonded to the inner surface of the cap around its entire circumference and a cradle strap attachment or attaching means 26 looped around mounting portion 80 of cord 46 and molded into the cap along with the cord. The attachment 26 may be made, for example, from cradle strap webbing and the like. Prior to the molding or bonding process, attachment 26 would be looped around portion 80 and riveted or stitched together. The lower end of a cradle strap 27 can then be secured to attachment 26 by a detachable fastener 28. This type of construction increases the strength of the lining suspensions and assures rigidity of the headgear throughout its circumference.

As has been mentioned in the description of the first modified form, the construction of the cap and lining not specifically described or shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 is the same as that disclosed relative to Figs. 1 and 2.

Although the above invention has been described as including a cord which is a continuous member, it is obvious that discontinuous portions of the cord may be employed if desired, and such a construction is considered within the scope of this invention.

Having explained the principle of the present inventic-n and having illustrated and described what is considered to be the best embodiment, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A protective headgear comprising a blow-resistant crown having a substantially smooth inner surface, spaced indentations formed along said inner surface, a lining mounting cord molded between the inner and outer surfaces of said crown and having portions extending across said indentations, and said portions being spaced from the walls of said indentations and disposed inwardly from said inner surface of the crown, whereby an air space is provided outwardly of said portions and said inner surface being unobstructed by said portions.

2. The protective headgear of claim 1, and said crown and cord being formed of electrically nonconductive material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,492,577 Obermeyer May 6, 1924 1,575,251 Cairns Mar. 2, 1926 1,875,143 Punton Aug. 30, 1932 2,025,772 Punton Dec. 31, 1935 2,248,366 Lewis July 8, 1941 2,585,937 Johnson et al Feb. 19, 1952 2,617,988 Alesi Nov. 18, 1952 2,741,768 Ruggiero Apr 17, 1956 2,746,049 Hudson May 22, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 679,848 Great Britain Sept. 24, 1952 

